1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to data transmission. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to distribution of video content over alternative transmission media.
2. Background
Traditionally, television content providers provide programming as an analog data stream received by a tuner, which then converts the analog stream into a digital format for storage for later viewing and/or current presentation on a display driven by the digital data. Increasingly, television content providers, such as cable and satellite companies, are providing digital programming directly to the users. Digital programs may be delivered over a variety of physical media including cable, through the airwaves by radio waves or over copper telephone lines. The digital programs are typically compressed to increase the amount of programming the content the provider can transmit.
The compressed digital programming is received by the user's television or receiver, which might be a set top box. The digital programming must be decompressed prior to formatting it for display. The proliferation of high definition (HD) programming which may require bit rates as high as twenty-five megabits per second (Mb/s) for the digital content stream. For an environment in which the display device is connected to the receiver by relatively low bandwidth network, this bit rate may not be possible to reliably transmit to the display. Additionally, storage of such a bit rate stream on a non-volatile mass storage medium such as a hard drive can be unduly burdensome on over all system storage resources.